Save The World
by Starr77
Summary: What if Krillin had pushed the button and deactivated 18? What would his life be like, and what measures would he go through to get her back? *One-shot K/18*


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A/N: This idea's been in my head for a long time, but it was only a little while ago that I finally got the whole thing on paper. This is just a little K/18 I thought would fit nicely once the whole thing fell together. Doesn't totally follow how the timeline would go, but hey, I'm allowed to change things. Now enjoy.

**_Save The World_**

By Starr

Krillin's thumbs wouldn't listen. They went down; totally against what his brain was screaming. He heard a click. It was then he realized his eyes were squeezed shut. Upon opening, he saw her fall.

Her blonde hair swept across her face as her ice blue eyes became even more cold and lifeless than usual. Her whole body froze as she inched closer and closer to the ground. After what seemed like hours to Krillin, the one person who he loved the most finally hit the ground. 

What else could he do but just watch her? He had made the most important decision of his life, and he could think of nothing more than how stupid he had been in the past thirty seconds. But he had saved the _world_. And maybe even the universe.

If he had done all that, why did he feel so horrible? Why did his heart just sink down to his stomach? And why was he shaking?

Trunks came down from the sky. "Oh good," he observed, in a sort of nonchalant way, "she's demobilized. Should I blast her now, or do you want to do the honors?"

_The honors?_ Krillin glanced over at Android 16. He sat there with a pained expression on his strong, determined face. He was far too damaged and hurt to attack anyone right now, including Krillin.

"Well?" Trunks prompted.

Krillin snapped back to reality. "You can _have the honors_. I'm going home." And feeling as though he might be sick to his stomach, he turned and flew off, hot tears burning his eyes.

The scene played over and over again in his mind. He could've saved her. He _should've_ saved her.

Everything in the world was perfect. Trunks killed Cell, (Vegeta being too arrogant to do it himself) and returned back to his own timeline to defeat Mirai Androids 17 and 18. Apparently things were going well with him.

Everyone and everything was wonderful in the West Capital, and the world for that matter. Except of course, in Krillin's mind.

He kept thinking about what would happen if he hadn't pushed that button, instead he would have told her he was madly and deeply in love with her, take her in his arms and tell her everything would always be wonderful.

But it was too late now. He had his chance to make things different. And he completely blew it.

She was gone. Trunks had blasted her to shreds. There was no one in the universe who understood what Krillin was going through. No one _could_ understand. Not even Goku. Nobody.

So there he sat, in his small bedroom at Kame House, leaning against the window, staring out at the rain.

It hit the roof in a rhythmical pattern, and with each drop, Krillin thought about every single thing he loved about her. Her face, her smile, her skin, her eyes, her hair, her strength, her courage, her voice, her. Just her. Everything about her. 

But he killed her. She was dead. Dead. He would never, ever see her again. He could never tell her he loved her. He could never have the pleasure of getting to know her inside and out. Never is a long time.

A week later, Krillin sat in the same exact position. It was hard, going on like nothing ever happened, when the opposite was going on inside of him.

Krillin may have been considered the universe's strongest human physically, but emotionally, he was dead. Beaten until he didn't have the strength to go on.

About ten days after she died, Goku stopped by Kame House looking for a sparring partner. The cheerful Sayain saw how down his best friend was, and tried his hardest to pull the cause out of him.

"Aw, come on Krillin. You have to tell _someone_. You won't feel better unless you talk about it, get it off of your chest."

"That's just the thing. I'm never _going_ to feel better, Goku. She's dead, and it's all my fault. I killed her. She's gone. Forever. It's my fault," Krillin burst out, his face all red with anger and frustration.

Goku nodded, though he was thoroughly confused. "Who's gone, Krillin? Who did you kill?" he asked softly.

The small man put his head down slightly, as to not let his best friend see the tears that flowed out of his ebony eyes. "It doesn't really matter. I'll just have to be strong. It's nothing important, I guess. Don't worry about it," he babbled.

Our dark-haired Sayain crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow to his friend's head. "Apparently, Krillin, if you're this upset, I really think it's something. Now you know can tell me and I'll it between us, I promise."

"I'm in love with Android 18," Krillin whispered. "And I pushed the button on Bulma's remote. And I deactivated her. And Trunks blasted her. She's dead. I killed her. I could've saved her, and she could've lived the life she deserved."

Goku froze. "You…as in…blonde…" he stuttered. A few seconds later, he tried again. "Android 18? The blonde created by Dr. Gero? Programmed to kill us? You're in love with her?"

"What do you want me to say Goku? 'Haha! I fooled you!'? I can't do that. I murdered the woman I love. Yeah, sure, I saved the world. Ooh, look at me, I'm a hero! Would you give up Chi-Chi to save the world? It's going to take all the strength I don't have to get through this," Krillin shouted.

A clock ticked away the minutes of silence as Krillin turned his back to Goku and stared out the window. And though he tried his hardest to concentrate on the ocean, he couldn't forget it. He probably never would.

Goku nodded to himself before turning and leaving the room. Through all the years he had known Krillin, he had never seen him that passionate or upset over someone. _She must really mean a lot to him._

She haunted him. She was everywhere. She never left him alone.

Staring out the window, he saw her face in the clouds or in the ocean. He saw her at the grocery store; or at least someone who looked freakishly like her.

But the one thing that made Krillin fear his decision the most was a dream he had one night. A very vivid dream.

He was older. At least five years. He was still living on Kame Island, except his hair had grown out. The sun shone overhead and the ocean sparkled.

The red door on the pink house opened and a little toddler waddled out. She had two blonde pigtails and dark eyes.

"Daddy!" she cried, running up into Krillin's arms.

He smiled and lifted her above his head and set her on his shoulders. He glanced up and smiled at the smirking Android 18 in the doorway.

Krillin woke up in a cold sweat.

Dreaming of her. Again. But was that more of a premonition? If he had let her live, is that what would've happened?

It was really creepy, the way she haunted him like this. Maybe it was her way of taking revenge on him for killing her.

In a conversation with Yamcha one night, the former desert bandit pointed out that Krillin didn't _kill_ 18, he just _deactivated_ her. _Trunks_ was the one that blew her to pieces.

But he still pushed the button.

Word had gotten around to all the Z-warriors of Krillin's feelings, and, like the big, fun-loving dysfunctual family they were, all of the reactions were highly mixed. Bulma found it shocking at first, then declared it adorable. Vegeta thought it was disturbing, loving a monster that tried to kill all your friends. Gohan, who was just eleven, just nodded his head and smiled kind of strangely. Chi-Chi was Chi-Chi, and she already hated 18 for trying to kill Goku, who still hadn't gotten over the initial shock of it all. Yamcha had tried his hardest to help his old buddy, but really couldn't understand the pain he was going through. 

So everyone knew. The exact opposite of what Krillin wanted to happen. But how could everyone not know? In a family, secrets can't be kept for very long, and after all the scares they'd had lately, no one really wanted to lose touch with each other.

Except Krillin, of course. He mostly kept to himself in his bedroom at Master Roshi's little house. And when the most wicked thunderstorm would be brewing he'd go outside and spar with himself, pushing himself to the most extreme limits.

Master Roshi would watch him come in and drag himself up to bed silently. What do you say to the guy who just killed the woman he loved?

But night after night, the hardest thing for Krillin to do was sleep. He had more dreams about the little blonde girl. And one time, there was a little boy who looked just like Goku did when he was a kid.

18 was always with him in the dreams, but her eyes were softer and more welcoming. Krillin couldn't help but begin to think of her eyes like that.

Sometimes, he didn't sleep at all. He just sat there, outside in the sand, watching the ocean waves lap up onto the beach, But by the next night, he would always fall asleep, no matter what he tried to tell his body.

After two months, Krillin had given up on going back to his old, normal life. But he hated living in this depression. Love had scarred him for life, and there was nothing he could do about it. Until one day…

Bulma came by with baby Trunks. She had the answer to Krillin's problem.

"I don't know why anyone didn't think of it before. Up at the lookout, Dende has the Dragonballs, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, I think he does. But how's that going to undo everything I've done? All that pain I caused myself and her…"

The blue-haired beauty smacked him. "You _idiot_! Don't you get it? You can use the Dragonballs to wish yourself back to where you used the remote. Then, you can save the Android, and you won't have to mope around here all day! Now what are you waiting for?"

The reality of Bulma's idea hit him like a ton of bricks. Of course! Why didn't he think of the Dragonballs sooner? Then, he could see what life would be like if he hadn't pushed that button. He could see if he made the right choice.

"Thanks Bulma!" he exclaimed before giving her a hug and taking off through the window.

The sky was blue and the air was shining as Krillin flew happily through the air. 

_Wow, I really feel stupid. The Dragonballs were up there all along_.

He flew straight up and set his feet smoothly on the ground. He saw Piccolo meditating on the other side of the lookout.

"Hello Krillin," he said gruffly without opening his eyes. "Dende and Popo are in the room over there."

"Thanks Piccolo." He walked over toward the back room but stopped at the Namek's next words.

"Be careful with that Android. Don't make any decisions that will affect the world as we know it."

Krillin nodded and continued his walk. "Dende!" he called as he opened the big brass door. "It's me, Krillin!"

"Yes Krillin, Popo and I are in here!" came the reply.

In the back room, Dende and Popo were sitting around a huge table, talking in hushed voices. The small Namek's head snapped up and he smiled at Krillin. "Hi! What can I do for you today Krillin?"

The short monk looked down at his feet. "I was wondering if I could have the Dragonballs. I have a couple of wishes I would like to make."

"Sure. Hold on, I'll get them." He stood up and got the seven yellow spheres out of a small cabinet. "Here you go."

"Thanks," Krillin said, as he ran out and set the Dragonballs down. The sky turned black, and the dragon shot up into the darkness.

After the green reptile made his little introduction, Krillin cleared his throat.

"I wish for a glimpse of what life would be like if I hadn't deactivated Android Number 18, without changing or altering this timeline."

In an instant, scenes changed and pictures flashed through Krillin's head. He dropped the remote and stepped it… Cell sucked up 18... Goku IT'd himself and an exploding Cell… a spit-soaked 18 lay on the ground… Gohan killed Cell… Goku didn't want to be wished back… Krillin and 18 kissed… a wedding ceremony… the little Goku look-alike… a little baby… the little blonde girl…

Krillin felt tears come to his eyes. He looked so happy. 

So when the little 'show' ended, Krillin took his next wish into careful consideration; very careful.

"I wish for this timeline to go back fifteen days ago, right before I deactivated Android Number 18."

The scene changed again and Krillin appeared back on the island. The remote was in his small hands, but he dropped it. A blue boot came down and smashed the gray box to pieces.

Four years later, the happy, joyful Krillin sat in the sand on Kame beach. The sun was shining overhead, the sky was the bluest blue, and the day was absolutely perfect.

A tall figure stood next to the overjoyed man, its shadow hovering over him. The figure carefully sat down in the sand.

18 laid her head on her husband's shoulder, gently rocking the tiny bundle in her arms.

"How's my little Marron doing?" Krillin asked.

"She's sleeping," 18 replied, smiling down at the five-day old infant in her arms. "How did we get to be so lucky?"

Krillin smiled as he stared out into the ocean. "It all started when a love struck fool made a wish…" 

Okay, so what'd you guys think? Please, please review, whether you liked it or hated it. I wanna know what you guys think. So review! 


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